My grandma was a southern cook, and a DAMN good one! Each morning my mom would pack us up and take us over to Granny's house for breakfast, and she never would never disappoint. She would have orange juice, cranberry juice, or an occasional pineapple juice waiting for us at her kitchen table. Coffee would be brewing. Bacon or sausage and toast or biscuits would be made and ready to go. Sometimes, she would switch it up with fried potatoes, cinnamon rolls, oatmeal, or grapefruit halves. Other times we would have pancakes or waffles. But we always had eggs. Each and every morning she would be ready to cook us up our eggs: made to order. If I was in the mood for scrambled, she'd make scrambled, and if I was in the mood for fried, she'd make fried. She made "comfort" food an everyday part of my life, and she never once fixed a bad meal.
At a young age, I showed an interest in cooking. From the time I was five, I would help my granny in the kitchen, usually cracking and beating eggs, or stirring fried potatoes. One of the reasons I like to cook so much, is that I want to relive eating that wonderful food she made for us. Every time I cook, I strive to make mine taste like hers. The difference is that I'm dependent on good recipes, and she rarely used one.
Lucky for me, my family is full of good cooks, and I eat pretty damn good! My dad was a short order cook in a steak house. My Aunt Cindy makes awesome Navajo tacos, tri-tip sandwiches, string beans, and crawfish omletes. My cousin Nancy effortlessly puts together wonderful food that is so good, it reminds me of my grandma's cooking. My sister Erin, makes the best lamb chops we've ever had, and is the only person who can fry eggs and potatoes better than me. My paternal grandmother made the most delicious pasties (meat and potato hand pies) that took me years to replicate. My cousin Pat can fry up a steak like nobody else and really knows how to put together a great meal for a crowd. Even my mom, who hates to cook, rarely makes anything that tastes bad. She knows how to cook a holiday meal as good as any my grandma ever made.
Because I want my kids to have the same wonderful experience with food that I have, I often do things that grandma did. One of her little tricks was to lay slices of bacon on the waffle batter before closing the waffle iron:
Feel free to use more bacon than I did. You almost can't have too much.
And, waffles never tasted so good!
I would love to hear about your grandma's cooking! Please de-lurk and tell me about your grandma's kitchen! What kind of cook was she? What comfort food did she fix for you? What was the best part about her kitchen? Or, if you knew my grandma, what kind of wonderful food did she fix you???
Bacon Waffles
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1 egg, beaten
2 cups flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
12-16 strips of cooked bacon
In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except bacon, and mix until smooth. Add approximately 2/3 cup of batter to a pre-heated waffle iron, laying slices of cooked bacon on top of batter. Close waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's instructions. When waffle is done, top with butter and syrup and serve immediately. Yields: 4 waffles
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